Until Here

by Cristin Cooper

  Until Here

  An Until Novella Book 2

  Cristin Cooper

  Contents

  Copyright

  Also by Cristin Cooper

  Prologue

  1. May 2nd

  2. May 2nd

  3. May 2nd

  4. May 3rd

  5. May 3rd

  6. May 3rd

  7. May 4th

  8. May 3rd

  9. May 4th

  10. May 4th

  11. May 5th

  12. May 6th

  13. May 15th

  14. May 18th

  15. May 19th

  16. May 24th

  Epilogue

  FREE BOOK

  Acknowledgments

  About the Author

  Books in the Until Series

  Preview

  Copyright

  Until Here

  Copyright © 2016 Cristin Cooper

  All rights reserved.

  No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage or retrieval system without written permission of the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

  * * *

  Cover Design: Cristin Cooper

  Cover Photo: Bigstockphotos

  Editing: Elaine York at Allusiongraphics.com

  Also by Cristin Cooper

  Always Series

  Love, Ryan

  Love You, Always

  Love Me

  * * *

  Always Novella

  Safe Love novella

  * * *

  Until Series

  Until Now

  Until Here novella

  Until Us

  Until You novella

  * * *

  Juliet Chronicles

  Juliet Chronicles Book One

  Juliet Chronicles Book Two

  Juliet Chronicles Book Three

  To everyone who took a second chance at love.

  Prologue

  Preston

  Kneeling down on bended knee, Preston gazed into tear-filled eyes. The weight of the ring in his hand grew heavier as the woman he loved shook her head no. The hope he held in his chest began to splinter as the realization hit him. The tears she was shedding were not happy tears.

  He swallowed the lump in his throat hoping — praying this was all a misunderstanding. He and Bridget had been dating for two years. When she said no to moving in together last year, he agreed it might have been too soon but now…getting married felt like the right thing to do. They couldn’t date forever and Bridget’s daughter, Katie, deserved to have a father. He hadn’t realized how much he wanted a wife or to be a father until Bridget and Katie came into his life. Now it was all he thought about.

  Seeing the pain in her eyes cut him as deeply as her rejection. When a sob escaped her lips, he stood. “Bridget? What’s wrong?” he asked as he cradled her face in his hands.

  She blinked back tears but they were coming so quickly they had left dark streaks down her cheeks. “I can’t. I’m sorry.” She pushed past him rushing down the hall picking up the trail of clothes they had dropped on their way to his bedroom earlier in the evening.

  His mind raced to catch up as he followed her. Not an hour ago they were saying ‘I love you’ and now she was scrambling to get dressed as if the ring in his hand was a bomb that was about to detonate.

  He wanted to hold her still until she explained why she wouldn’t marry him. “What are you doing?” he asked. Just as she slipped into her skirt, he pulled her to him. “Please talk to me,” he begged. His eyes stung and his heart raced. “What’s going on? I’m confused.”

  She scrambled away from him. “I can’t do this.” Her hand shook as she pointed back and forth between them. He was desperate to keep her from leaving until they worked this out. She wouldn’t — couldn’t just end it like this.

  Needing to calm her down, he forced a smile and softened his voice. “Of course, you can. We’ve been doing this for two years.” From the very beginning, he knew he had an uphill battle. It took months to get her to go on one date with him and another few months before she invited him over to spend time with her and Katie. It had taken even longer before she would show outward affection when they weren’t alone. From the very beginning she resisted every step of their relationship and just like every other step, he would be patient and wait for her to be ready.

  She didn’t break a smile. Sitting on the edge of the bed, he pulled her onto his lap and wrapped his arms around her. At that moment, he needed to hold her to keep her from leaving and taking his dream of a family with her. “Bridget, talk to me. You’re scaring me.”

  Lifting off his lap, he not only felt the physical distance but the emotional distance between them increase feeding his already growing worry. This couldn’t be the end. He reached for her hand, but she moved out of reach. “I can’t move in and I can’t marry you.”

  He stared at her hoping she would give him something that would make sense of this mess. How could one of the best nights of his life turn into the worst? “Then what have we been doing for the past two years?” he asked feeling increasingly frustrated. This was the next step. He wasn’t moving too fast. She was just scared but he would show her that they were ready for this.

  “Dating. Getting to know one another.” The way she avoided looking into his eyes, he realized she was lying. Maybe even to herself. There was no way she didn’t see this coming.

  “We’ve done that. Did I give you the impression I was interested in dating forever? I told you early on that I want it all. Marriage, family — all of it.” Why was she with me if she didn’t want this too?

  “I know you did, and I wanted it too,” she stated.

  If she wanted it… “You don’t anymore?” His eyebrows turned in and he shook his head trying to grasp what she said.

  “I do,” she said softly.

  He let out a deep breath. She was just scared, he reasoned, but as they stared at one another realization dawned on him. “But not with me,” he muttered under his breath.

  She shook her head no.

  That was when it dawned on him. It was Billy she wanted to marry. He thought about the way she looked at her boss, Billy. They had a Sunday morning ritual of coffee and donuts that Preston was never invited to. He thought about the number of times they would stop talking when he entered the room and how she seemed to always gravitate toward him whenever he was around. “Because you want it with Billy.” He knew her and Billy loved each other as friends, at least, that’s what she said when he questioned her about their relationship. She assured him there weren’t romantic feelings between them. He had believed her.

  “It’s me. I love you, but I’m not ready to get married.” The way she avoided looking him in the eye, he knew she was lying again. Would she have said yes if it was Billy asking? “I’m sorry,” she whispered.

  He followed her to the front door and tried to concentrate on just breathing.

  In.

  Out.

  In.

  Out.

  The pressure on his chest was almost unbearable. He couldn’t let her leave. Not like this. Not after two years of chasing her.

  Before she could step outside, he reached for her and pulled her into his arms. “Please say yes,” he pleaded one last time. Without saying a word, she kissed his cheek and pulled away. He gripped the doorframe to brace himself.

  How could she do this? How could she leave when she told me she loved me?

  When he could no longer see her taillights, he closed the door and drew in a deep breath. He went to the spare bedroom and stared into the room that represented everything he wanted. As he placed the ri
ng on the dresser, he pleaded with God to make her change her mind and then closed the door on the life he had imagined with Bridget.

  Chapter One

  May 2nd

  Preston

  Preston plopped down on the edge of the hotel bed with a tired sigh. After missing his flight, he decided to get a room near the airport instead of going back to his dad’s condo where he had been living for the past several months. Lying back, he slipped off his shoes. Lost in thought, he stared at the blank ceiling.

  He was ready. In fact, he was more than ready to go home and face his life.

  After he and Bridget had broken up, he put all his energy into work. He reasoned he needed to prove to his dad and uncle that he was deserving of the title of partner. But, in truth, he was running away. He spent all of his time living and breathing contracts. Each day he worked late into the night until he could barely keep his eyes open and only had enough energy to fall into bed or on occasion onto the couch in his office.

  A few months after his breakup he had called his uncle in Illinois to discuss transferring out of Arizona. He already had his law license in both states and would be able to start working right away. His uncle happily agreed and wished him luck in telling his father.

  After a lengthy discussion over drinks, his father agreed it would be a good idea but made it clear it would only be temporary. Since then, Preston had been back to his hometown of Flagstaff only ten days out of the past fifteen months.

  He thought back to those months and even though his parents weren’t happy having him so far away, he needed that time to recover and get his head on straight. It worked. His head was clear and his focus sharp on what he wanted from his life.

  He no longer held on to the dream of marrying Bridget and being the father to her daughter. In fact, he recognized he had been more in love with the idea of them than he was in them as a couple. He was able to see his and Bridget’s relationship in a whole new light and realized he not only wanted — but he deserved — so much more than what she had been able to give him.

  He was no longer willing to drag someone through a relationship. He wanted a partner, someone who would take those steps forward with him. He wanted someone to openly love him as deeply and richly as he loved her. To achieve his dream of a wife and kids, he needed to go home and create a life outside of his job.

  Sitting up, he picked up his phone and called his father. “Dad?”

  “Hey, how did everything go today?” his father asked, assuming he wanted to discuss work.

  “Great. They are set to begin building in two weeks.”

  “Perfect timing. The Marshall/Hammond group…”

  Before his father could finish his sentence, he said, “Dad, I’m ready to come home.” He had already informed his uncle that once he finished his latest contract, he was transferring back to Arizona but he had wanted to surprise his parents. It was the reason he had planned to leave tonight, but his meeting went over and he missed his flight by only minutes.

  He could hear the sigh of relief on the other end of the phone. Choked up, his father managed to say, “I’m glad to hear it, son…I’m glad to hear it.”

  Tears welled up in his eyes. “Yeah.” He nodded his head releasing a deep breath.

  A calming silence hung between them.

  It was time.

  His father cleared his throat. “Well, your mother will be pleased. She’s missed you.”

  Preston grinned knowing his father was the big softy of the two. “I miss her, too,” he said. “I have an early morning flight out of here so I should be home in the afternoon.”

  “Dinner at our house,” his dad insisted.

  “Can’t wait.”

  A knock sounded on his hotel door and two male voices echoed in the hall. He had a pretty good idea who it was and tried not to groan. “Hey, Dad, I have to go. But I’ll see you tomorrow.”

  “I love you, son.”

  “Love you too, Dad.”

  Releasing a heavy sigh, he hung up the phone and went to the door to look out the peephole. He was tempted to not answer but against his better judgment he opened the door to Seth and Gary, the brothers who had hired him to write up purchasing and zoning contracts for their new property.

  Before he could say hello they walked in as if they owned the place. “We’re getting dinner then hitting a few clubs for your last night here. Get dressed.” Seth demanded as he sat on the bed, flipped on the TV and turned it to some sports channel.

  There went his quiet night of room service and a movie. Then it hit him that most of his nights had been quiet and included take-out. “It really is time to go home,” he mumbled to himself.

  Gary nudged him. “You heard him and we’re taking you to some upscale places so you have to wear a suit.”

  Multiple places?

  He held back a groan. The last thing he wanted to do was get back into a suit and hang out in a crowded club, but when Gary leaned against the door with his arms folded and brow lifted, he relented.

  Suck it up, Preston. It won’t kill you to be social.

  A half hour later, he stood in the bathroom freshly showered and dressed trying to come up with an excuse to bail out early. For the past several weeks he had used work as an excuse to decline their invitations, what he wouldn’t give for a work emergency. It wasn’t that they weren’t good guys, they were, but Seth and Gary had a lot of money to blow and they liked to party. It just wasn’t his thing. He preferred a quiet atmosphere and good conversation.

  He pasted on a smile and reminded himself that it was his last night in Chicago. He might as well try to enjoy it.

  Chapter Two

  May 2nd

  Melanie

  Melanie pushed off the desk with one foot then quickly pulled her leg in as she spun around in the Dragon Lady’s, aka her boss’s, office chair. Leaning her head on the armrest, she watched as photos of an adorable three-year-old and a picture perfect family of three on her boss’s desk came in and out of view. She closed her eyes and let the motion take her back in time when life was easy and she was happy. It had been so long ago she could barely remember the last time she even laughed.

  She sighed and concentrated on her favorite memories. Like when she and her sister, Marla, used to entertain themselves in their dad’s office as kids. Every Saturday her dad would give their mother a ‘sanity’ day by taking her and Marla for the day. They would eat lunch at a fancy restaurant where they got to dress up and eat grown up food. Then they would head to his office where they would take turns spinning themselves sick in his chair or play boss and secretary while he did a little work. Marla always got to be the boss. Nothing much had changed.

  “Why can’t I be a kid again?” she lamented just as she put her foot out to push off again.

  “Why do you do that? You’re going to make yourself sick,” her boss grumbled as she entered her office. Normally, Melanie paid close enough attention not to get caught messing around in her boss’s office, but not today. She was lamenting her non-existent life and nothing was going to make her stop, even getting caught by the Dragon Lady. It’s not like she would ever get fired. Dragon Lady wouldn’t be able to function without her.

  “It helps me think,” Melanie mumbled as the chair slowed.

  Leaning her hip against the desk, Marla sighed. “Can’t you do this in your chair?”

  Melanie shook her head no. “Yours is better than mine.” She was about to push off again, but Marla moved behind the chair and spun it as hard as she could.

  “If you throw up, you’re cleaning it,” Marla threatened as she picked up her laptop and plopped down onto the sofa at the other end of the room. “What are you thinking about anyway?”

  “Dad. Happiness.”

  “Hmmm.” Marla leaned back looking as tired as Melanie felt. It was a rare moment. Usually, the Dragon Lady would never let anyone see her as anything but put together. She let out a tired sigh. “Why are you still here, Mel?”

  She stuck her
foot out to stop spinning. Unfortunately, her stomach kept going. “Whoa,” she moaned. Marla lifted a brow in an ‘I told you so’ look. Melanie rolled the chair to the garbage can and leaned forward just in case. “I work for a ball buster who works late,” she said half teasing into the trashcan. Her sister was demanding, impatient and expected the best. Since Melanie had a history of being bossed around by her, they were a perfect fit.

  “Maybe it’s time for you to get a new job.” Marla said off-handedly.

  A breath caught in Melanie’s throat as she straightened her back and stared at her sister. Having this job was the only thing that had kept her sane. She was so busy she didn’t have time to wallow or think about all that she had lost. “Are you trying to fire me without firing me because that would make you a horrible sister.” Her voice shook as the fear caught up with her. Thinking about changing her life was different from actually doing it. Was she ready?

  “No. You’re the best assistant I’ve ever had.” Melanie blew out a shaky breath as she braced a hand on her chest trying to slow her racing heart.

  A smile flittered across Marla’s face. “All those years bossing you around when we were kids made you the best personal assistant I’ve ever had.” Her smile fell as she looked at Melanie. “But you need a life.”